Commie Foodstuffs

Along the same lines as Tim's post below, the government of North Korea is encouraging their hapless citizens to eat pine needles.

Pyongyang, June 15 (KCNA) -- Pine needle has been used as material of health foodstuffs from ancient times in Korea. According to "Hyangyakjipsongbang" (a medical encyclopedia) published in the 15th century in Korea, pine needle prevents aging, invigorates spirits and turns grey hair to black.

The Korean people have used pine needles in steaming rice-cake and curing various diseases.

Comments

[Ken Shultz]

I used to do a lot of hiking and camping, and my understanding is that certain pine needles are supposed to lend somewhat of a citrus flavor when boiled into a broth. But for many in North Korea, pine needles are the only thing in the broth, which makes the dish more like a tea than anything else. I prefer Chamomile, but some people like Green Tea. This pine needle stuff isn?t like Green Tea, though, that's completely different.

The guys running things over there are ingenious; I'm sure they don't need any help coming up with new ideas, but maybe the people of North Korea could supplement their pine needle tea diet with mud pies, which I understand contain a lot of minerals. Making mud pies is fun, and everybody already knows how to make a mud pie. But it's not like the dessert you get at Americanized Mexican restaurants. It's not like that at all.

[Gary Gunnels]

Ken Schultz,

Certain types of pines have needles which do have limited medicinal properties; especially in New England.

[Ken Shultz]

How's that Jerry, do they make you throw up?

P.S. I've been trying to think of how to broach the subject without looking like an egotistical ass, but I confess to sometimes enjoying your responses, so, for future reference, my last name is spelled without a "c".

[M. Simon]

Fresh pine needles (yellowish tips) are full of vitamin C. They do make a nice lemony like tea.

[tsiroth]

Where I work, we have about 20 clients named Schultz with a "c" and just 2 with no "c". Drives me nuts. You "Shultz" people need to stop spelling your names wrong. The rest of us will help you remember.

---- Lesley
(that's Lesley with an "ey")

[Yoo EL Gib Hons]

Is wrong eating pine needles?
I nevah say taste good. Only say you CAN eat them!

Still stalking wild 'sparagras op here in hebbin.

[Gary Gunnels]

Ken Shultz,

Sorry about the name-spelling issue. 🙂

M. Simon,

I know the Wampanoags used pine needles in a varied number of ways. Other parts of the tree are also useful - in my youth, I (like most of my family going back to the pre-colonial cod fisheries of the Georges Banks, etc.) fished for a living (largely in the shrimp and shark industries). Anyway, when you handle a lot of shrimp they can cause a rather nasty allergic reaction (this is especially true of those areas of the skin punctured by their little carapace horns) - a common salve for this is derived from pine tar or pitch. I've used it innumerable times and draws out the "infection" far more readily than anything I've gotten from a doctor.

You'll also find that if you are ever stung by a jellyfish, that urinating on the ffected area can induce a certain amount of relief - urea has some other fairly neat properties.

[Andrew Lynch]

Am much more interested in the eating habits of Americans since it's none of my business what North Koreans do to get through the day, but thanks for the, um, global awareness, anyway. ;>

[Neb Okla]

If only they had a few McDonalds and such, then the people of North Korea would not have to eat pine needles.

It'd be amusing to see medicinal effects of Big Macs on their people.

I'm sure it'd put the "happy" in Happy Meal too.

[Ken Shultz]

"Isn't the point of the blog post to describe the ridiculous hoops the North Korean government is making it's citizens jump throught and not the nutritional or medicinal benefits (if any) of eating pine needles?"

Of course! But if we didn't laugh, we'd have to cry.

[Karl]

Don't we make turpentine our of pine trees? If so, that doesn't speak well as to what the needles may do to your innards.

"Chock full of vitamine C, and will make you 30% more ignitable!"

[Evan Williams]

Yo, Neb, which would you rather be: starving to death, or a little bit overweight? If I had to choose between starving to death, dividing up pine needle rations, or McD's, I think I'd choose the latter. Also, McD's doesn't make people fat. The sedentary lifestyle in this country does. If DPRK had alot of McD's, I doubt they'd be as fat as we are, simply because they aren't as sedentary.

But, like most of this country, you seem to be ignorant about the real causes of obesity, and even simple physiological nutrition. Lemme guess: you probably watched "Super Size Me" recently...

[kevrob]

Those crazy commies! It's the pine nuts you want to eat. Here on Turtle Island that's been known for some time. Try this:

http://tinyurl.com/yvbws for "Native American Catfish with Pine Nuts." Yum!

Kevin

[The Lonewacko Blog]

Wake me when they suggest eating babies.

I believe that's what the reference to the 'soylent green' post was about.

[M. Simon]

Pine needles are an acquired taste.

Evidently so is a Bic Mac (my daughter [13] will not eat them. She likes them chicken nuggets though.)

The question is not what they are eating. It is why.

[kevrob]

One of my first jobs was at McD's. If you put a gun to my head, I'd eat the pine needles before I touched that "secret sauce."

That stuff is nasty!

Kevin

[EcoDude]

Isn't the point of the blog post to describe the ridiculous hoops the North Korean government is making it's citizens jump throught and not the nutritional or medicinal benefits (if any) of eating pine needles?

[Clean Green Teeth]

And when the meal's done, they make darn fine toothpicks, too!

[Jason Ligon]

Dining trends are interesting. The tree bark of two years ago is SOOO passe ...

[Evan Williams]

Ecodude,

This is not to say that the DPRK gubmint is anything to be desired, but...

...what "hoops" is the DPRK government "making" its citizens "jump through"?

If you look at the "news report" that is linked to above, I don't see anything other than a report that a company under the ministry of forestry has developed products made from pine needles, and that they are supposedly good for you.

Oh, the tyranny!

Meanwhile, our (US) government steals our money, then uses it to run extensive propeganda campaigns telling us how horrible marijuana is...yet alcohol is legal.

So, even if Pyongyang is lying about the nutritional value of pine needles, it still doesn't hold a candle to the evil drug warriors here in our good ol' "Land of the Free".

Hanah Metchis needs to find some better things to blog about. Tim Cavanaugh's preceding post about human hair being used in Soy Sauce in China, now THAT was pretty awful. But then Hanah says "along the same lines as Tim's post below..."; I'm not sure how they're even in the same ballpark. Using human waste hair to make condiments ain't exactly the same thing as, or even along the same lines as, products developed from pine needles. Humans make a great deal of products from plants. Pine needles may not be an accepted resource for this practice, but who knows...

Either way, I don't see anyone making anyone else "jump through hoops". I'd much rather eat a pine needle than human hair sauce. How bout you?

[hungry]

Mr. Lynch,

For that matter, it's none of your darned business what Americans, other than you, eat either.

Hungry

[Euell Gibbons]

Ever eat a pine tree? Some parts are edible.

[Ray Kroc]

Psst! Hey, kevrob? That secret sauce is really bull semen.

[kevrob]

Kroc, go haunt your loony widow. She gave $200 million of your hard-earned dough to NPR! That's a lot of Happy Meals down the drain.

I liked working at Hardees better. Hamburgers should be grilled, not fried.

Kevin

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